...an award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics-from today and yesterday:all 32 Counties !Updated a number of times each week . (Mirror site here)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago . The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime . By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .

In this article we are attempting to show that there is substantial evidence of a great deal of collusion between individual Gardai in the presentation of their evidence , notably in their statements in the Book of Evidence and that this suggests strongly that there was in fact a conspiracy among some Gardai to commit perjury ie to subvert the course of justice .

We further seek to show that at no stage did the Gardai or any other authority attempt to investigate these matters , in spite of the persuasive nature of the evidence involved . And we seek to show that those recommendations to ensure that these abuses could not happen again have been entirely ignored by successive Dublin governments . The case raises the most serious questions about the character of the Garda Siochana , especially the failure to hold any investigation into the affair.

Of course there are serious inferences in respect of the courts - the (State) Special Criminal Court , the (State) Court of Criminal Appeal and even the (State) Supreme Court - as well . All these courts failed to come to grips with essential evidence in the case , notably the extraordinary circumstances whereby the accused persons were remanded into Garda custody having been charged in the (State) District Court on the evening of April 7 , 1976 : it was that remand which created the sceanario whereby the Gardai could claim that the injuries suffered by the accused were mutually inflicted....... (MORE LATER).

(Martin McGuinness , left , with Henry Kissinger , as usual , on the right ...)

DISARMING MARTIN ....... All (P)Sinn Fein leaders have a series of mantras and mini-speeches which they seek to get into every interview , regardless of the question . The task of the journalist is to avoid setting off these reflex responses : the problem with Martin McGuinness is that he does it so pleasantly that it seems impolite to interrupt him . From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 . By John Waters .

Martin McGuinness stated - " Quentin Thomas and Stephen Leach , from British Intelligence , were , in my view , always the two people who had invented decommissioning , and effectively gave the weapon to John Major as a plausible reason why he shouldn't involve himself in negotiations with (P) Sinn Fein . And the agenda , obviously , was to stop negotiations and to prevent (P) Sinn Fein's participation , and to effectively rebuff the juggernaut of the Irish government , (sic) the SDLP , (P) Sinn Fein , Irish-America , supported by the international community ie - the peace process (sic) . "

" But there is also another military dimension to it , which is absolutely about people injecting an issue into the process that they knew hadn't a snowball's chance in hell of ever succeeding *. Because the very people who invented the decommissioning issue knew the mindset of the (P) IRA better than anyone else in the equation . And while it had both a military and a political objective in preventing negotiations taking place , it was always my view that this was an issue about dividing republicans (sic - McGuinness was referring to fellow constitutional nationalists , as he lost the right to speak on behalf of republicans in 1986 : * .....but succeed it did , with the same Martin McGuinness leading the charge for the PIRA to decommission !) and causing confusion . "

While there is no doubt that no precondition exists in the agreement* (*the 1998 Stormont Treaty) requiring (P) Sinn Fein to achieve (P)IRA decommissioning in advance of being admitted to the Stormont Executive , there is , however , a difficulty in that some process of decommissioning is envisaged . The (P) IRA has said , unambiguously , there will be no decommissioning - ever !('1169...' Comment - the PIRA has , since then , not only decommissioned its arms and munitions, but also its mindset of active opposition to British interference in Irish affairs . They now implement British policy on this isle as Michael Collins , amongst others , did , before them . It remains to be seen if they will get the same 'reward' as Collins did ).......(MORE LATER).

Immediately after the 1975 feud between the Officials and the Provisionals , sweeping changes were brought in to bring the Official organisation in the North of Ireland fully into line with their more 'moderate' comrades in the South of the country . 'Militants' within the ranks were condemned at the Ard Fheis (the annual conference) in January 1976 , and a decision was taken to set up the 'Irish Democratic Youth Movement' (IDYM) as a replacement for Na Fianna Eireann , considered to be the IRA's youth movement . Billy McMillen had taken a great personal interest in the development of the Fianna , and they had remained committed to his brand of socialist thinking .

The 'IDYM' was carefully vetted by the leadership of the Officials and never really got off the ground : in one move, the Officials in effect wiped out their own youth wing in the name of ideological conformity . In the North , the members were told to prepare themselves for "... a period in the wilderness.. " while attention was focussed on building up the political wing in the South .

The new mood was embodied in the name changes and the publication of 'The Irish Industrial Revolution' , a thoroughly confused document which reflected the end of the Officials' anti-imperialism and their emergence into the arena of social democratic reformism . Seamus Lynch portrays the new image of the Workers' Party - more 'working-class-kid-made-good' than explicity middle-class : he had earned the respect of those once considered his main enemies . Gerry Fitt has recently listed seeing Seamus Lynch's future political success among his remaining ambitions....... !(MORE LATER).